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Eight Epic Failures That Came Before These Entrepreneurs' Success

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Failure always comes before success. Smart entrepreneurs know that these failures are just learning experiences and that if you fail enough, you'll eventually succeed. These Advisors in The Oracles share how their biggest failures helped get them where they are today.

I got married at 35 and was divorced by 36. We weren't on the same page and then one day realized that stood between us. We both quit the marriage before it ended — that’s when we failed. This happens often in business when you’re not on the same page as a partner or manager. Just like in marriage, if you don't confront the problem, you're guaranteed to fail.

I tried to corner the pheasant farm market before I realized there wasn’t one. I didn’t have the expertise and even lost 10,000 pheasants in a thunderstorm one night. I learned this: Never lead a business you can’t control — that was the takeaway.

No matter how big you think your failure is, there’ll always be another one. It might not cost you money, time or losing face. Don’t focus on the failure — strive for the next win as fast as possible.

When the press told Thomas Edison that he failed 10,000 times to invent the lightbulb, he responded that he’d “just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” That’s the mindset you want. —Jeffrey Hayzlett, global business celebrity, speaker, best-selling author, and Chairman of C-Suite Network, home of the world's most powerful network of C-Suite leaders

3. Missing An Accent Mark

When I was 23, I was finishing my degrees in Translation. I needed an internship to graduate, and communicated with my employer for a year before it was time to start. At the last minute, they sent me a final piece of paperwork. The day after I returned it, they canceled my internship because I forgot to use one Spanish accent mark. They weren’t able to accept anyone who didn’t pay attention to detail. I was devastated.

That accent mark majorly changed my life. An internship as a Spanish teacher in the U.K. was the only option left. That led me to working at Cambridge University and ultimately immigrating to the U.S. Thanks to that failure I’m now the CEO of several businesses, including a Spanish-learning gamification app nominated as Startup of the Year. —Ines Ruiz, former Cambridge University professor with two masters degrees (e-learning and education); founder of Pocket Learning Spanish and Diary of an Entrepreneur

4. Failing A Six-Figure Startup

I lost $150,000 on a failed software startup in 2017. Being a day trader for 14 years, I knew the industry intricately and used multiple software tools to gain an edge. But some things were missing that I thought I could do better. So why not build my own software program? Turns out that’s very hard and a ton of work.

Over a year into the project, I had to make a decision: Keep going and spend more money, or accept failure. I asked myself: “Am I passionate about running this company?” I realized I just cared about the money so I pulled the plug.

If you aren’t passionate about your business, it will fail. Money should be the byproduct of your passion, not the other way around. Now I travel the world and interview iconic people for my company, IKNK.com, which I’m so passionate about. You can begin your path to greatness when you look for the lessons in failure. I actually have a tattoo that says, “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” —Cameron Fous, founder of FOUS4Trading, and host of #TheProfile for IKNK. Read about Fous: How a Tinder Date Inspired This Wolf of San Diego to Trade His Maserati for a Scooter. Follow on YouTube and Instagram

The Oracles is an invitation-only brain trust of the world's leading entrepreneurs sharing their best success strategies. Interested in joining? Apply
here.

5. Driving My Entire Team Away

When I first became a manager, my passion often boiled over — to the point that I would explode with emotion. This didn’t earn points with my team. Finally, my entire team left in the night to compete against me. Blindsided and betrayed, I was left with an empty office and huge overhead. I was forced to start over.

Fast forward to this year. Our company culture is about delivering the best experience to our clients — and our agents. Glassdoor.com named us among the best companies to work for, and we’ll transact almost a billion dollars. There are two lessons: Don’t be a jerk, and as Rocky Balboa said, “It ain't about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” —Mark Bloom, President at NetWorth Realty, ranked by Glassdoor among the "Best Places to Work"for two consecutive years

6. Being Complacent

I had one product that worked well and brought value to my clients. Rather than innovate, I bet on that never changing. Literally overnight, I lost half of my clients because of a Google algorithm change. I had no other way to generate leads for them. I also wasn’t pushing myself to be better in my personal life. I wasn’t working out or training harder. So in turn, I wasn’t working and training harder in my business.

We almost went bankrupt in 2016. I didn’t know how to make financial projections and mismanaged our cash flow. We were $179,000 in debt with only $174 in cash. This forced us to reinvent ourselves. We developed our LinkedIn lead generation system and the process we use now with automated video and executive roundtables.

We came back. The systems that saved us are the same ones we use to help clients succeed. After 18 months, we made the list of the 50 fastest-growing companies in Canada with over $1 million in revenue. —Thomas Le Maguer, married father of four, founder and CEO of eRational Marketing, and co-founder and CEO of Integrity.one; helped clients generate over $35m in revenue

8. Losing It All On A ‘Robust’ Investment

I spent three years reinvesting all company profits back into our growing business — which I thought was smart given the “robust housing market.” Then the market crashed in 2008. The personal financial loss was significant and I nearly closed the business. It took years to recover.

The greatest lesson was to create a recession-proof budget that provides opportunity for growth while maintaining fiscal standards that won’t be compromised. Without a clear plan, everything looks like an opportunity, when it’s often a distraction that can threaten your company’s financial health.

You must seize opportunities while simultaneously navigating risk. The road to success is paved with mistakes — and life’s greatest lessons. So embrace the inevitable, stay the course, try to enjoy the journey, and thrive on finding solutions. —Eileen Rivera, CEO of The Rivera Group; real estate coach, speaker, and licensed California realtor with over half a billion in sales

Want to share your insights like those above in a future column? If you’re an experienced entrepreneur, please get in touch here.

The Oracles is a mastermind group of the world’s leading entrepreneurs who share their success strategies to help others grow their business and build a better life. Interested in joining? Apply at TheOracles.com.

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